THRILLER - A CRUEL PICTURE

Written and directed by Bo Arne Vibenius
Starring Christina Lindberg
(aka THEY CALL HER ONE EYE; HOOKER'S REVENGE)
1974

"Vengeance is a dish best served cold..."

Notoriously known in Drive-in circles as THEY CALL HER ONE EYE (which is really the best title for this film, particularly in terms of exploitation cinema) or HOOKER'S REVENGE, if you were lucky enough to experience it back in the late 70s (say '76 or '77), sandwiched between VAMPIRE HOOKERS and HOUSE OF HOOKERS as part of a traveling outdoor theater "Hooker Extravaganza."

THRILLER - A CRUEL PICTURE was orignally titled THRILLER - EN GRYM FILM (giving the movie a "serious" undertone as opposed to being a stark exploiter cum sexploiter as it was presented in the States - its European distribution history is sketchy) in its home country of Sweden where it was subsequently banned for its extreme violence. THRILLER - A CRUEL PICTURE was written and directed by Bo Arne Vibenius - who, incidentally, is very angry that Synapse Films has recently released the DVD of this film even though Vibenius supposedly gave Synapse his blessing.

But this was before Quentin Tarantino professed his love for THRILLER. While filming KILL BILL, Tarantino had the female cast - specifically Daryl Hannah - watch the Vibenius film. Without a doubt, THRILLER was one inspiration for Hannah's character of Elle Driver, who, like Frigga [the main character in THRILLER], wears an ever-changing eye patch. But I'm willing to bet eye patch inspiration was multi-dimensional. Another of Tarantino's favorite films is Jack Hill's SWITCHBLADE SISTERS, which also has a character who wears an eye patch. She is named, fittingly, Patch, and was played by missing-in-action B-Queen Monica Gayle [and Tarantino has never mentioned the Duke's Rooster Cogburn but, typically, when I see eye patch, I think TRUE GRIT - so, too, would film-buff Tarantino, one would think].

When Vibenius realized he could've jumped on the KILL BILL bandwagon and possibly made a bundle with the DVD re-release of THRILLER, it was too late - DVD clean-up and production had begun. Finally, Synapse released THRILLER in a very limited edition - 25,000 - squaring it firmly with DVD obsessives. And it should be on your shelf - whether you can warm up to it or not - simply because its so obscure and so weird. Besides the fact that its a great conversation piece and, if you want to shatter psyches, host a THRILLER screening at your next gathering.

That said, its difficult to peg Vibenius as an artiste based on this film but it does make the viewer wonder if the film's artistic elements (and there are quite a few on display) were accidental or naive or with purpose. Certainly the film's structure is unsettling but its pace is almost interminable.

Take, for instance, the opening sequence where we see a young Frigga wandering through an autumnal woods. The camera dwells on the colors of fall, bright yellows and reds (Frigga's jacket is also yellow), with the occasional sun flare hitting the lens, as Frigga meets an old man. The old man takes Frigga by the hand, walks with her and lifts her in the air and spins her around. The soundtrack plays some scratchy child-like tune, which is not at all joyful but filled with dread.

Vibenius presents this scene in a series of long, medium and POV shots, holding onto the the scenery for literally minutes. When the old man rapes Frigga, this turn of events holds little suspense (which, admittedly, adds to the disturbing element of this scene) but it goes on ad nauseum with ugly, fish-eye shots of the old man's face with his lips dripping tobacco seen from Frigga's perspective (we never see any physical contact between the old man and the young girl, but its certainly not implied - the intent is viewer as victim meant to impose a psychological reaction/relationship with the girl) . The scene ends with the old man being hauled off by the police while Frigga is cradled in her mother's arms. The mother slaps the codger across the face but, obviously, Vibenius doesn't know how police procedural works - victims would never be allowed contact with their attackers after an arrest.

This scene sets action in motion but it also sets up the film's pacing - long shots, continuous shots of the mundane (people on the phone, people lighting cigarettes, people filling glasses with alcohol, etc). But, beyond inducing boredom, these continuous shots affect the viewer psychologically, lulled into a nightmare with little chance of escape. Frigga's world slowly evolves into one of complete degradation and eventual annhilation - an existential howl (though silent - because of the childhood rape, Frigga is rendered mute) of pain and humiliation.

In a jump cut after the attack, Vibenius introduces Frigga as a young adult, working on her parents' farm, milking cows. One day, on her way to therapy, she's picked up by a man who brings her to his apartment where he seduces her with wine until she passes out. The man turns out to be a pimp, who has a stable of women strung out on heroin. After being force fed smack, Frigga loses contact with her mother and father, and experiences a myriad of sexual abuse. At one point, Frigga angers the pimp and, in retaliation, he removes one of Frigga's eyes with a razor in an excrutiating scene that Vibenius elects to show.

From that point on, Frigga dons a patch that matches not only her clothes but her moods - pink to match a pink neglige, which she innocently wears for her johns; red to match a red dress that signifies firey anger; and black to go with her black leather duster coat where she hides a sawed-off shotgun, hell-bent for vengeance.

Pre-dating TAXI DRIVER, Frigga goes through a training sequence - learns how to use weapons, is tutored in kung-fu, learns how to drive a car - to ready herself for slaughter, to get back at the people who have spent their time abusing her. Unfortunately, the training sequences are dull - and Frigga never really gets physical at all - the kung-fu is done mostly by her teacher, the driving by her instructor. Sure, she shoots, but that's easy.

Before writing off THRILLER - A CRUEL PICTURE as an exercise in bad filmmaking, Vibenius incorporates a couple of distinct motifs throughout the movie that elevate it to a form of cinematic abstraction that draws from such divergent influences as Sam Peckinpah and hardcore pornography.

Originally, Vibenius inserted hardcore, penetration images into scenes where Frigga is abused by her "customers." At first blush, its difficult to figure out why the director would denigrate (if that's possible) the film to this level. Certainly the inserts aren't meant to titillate - in fact, they disgust, with an overpowering electronic soundtrack of distortion slathered over nauseating, unclean images. Was it the filmmaker's intent to turn on audiences? And, if so, who was he trying to excite?

But one does have the feeling that Vibenius is trying to drive home the degradation, that the shots are, in fact, anti-porn (that is, if you define porn as something capable of exciting the viewer sexually) in their context and representation. How, too, must have Lindberg felt when she saw this film with those inserts that clearly don't represent her? Did Vibenius even inform the actress he was going to do such a thing? Imagine Lindberg taking her family and friends to this film and sitting stunned while these images splattered across the screen. Its no wonder she refuses to talk about this film or didn't provide any anecdotal information about making the movie on the DVD release (incidentally, all hardcore images were cut from American releases during the 70s and reinserted for the DVD).

While the pacing of the film is tiring, Vibenius shoots Frigga's acts of revenge in excrutiating slow motion. Her weapon of choice is a sawed-off shotgun and she sprays buckshot everywhere - as her johns are dispatched, they fly, fall, flip in almost stop action motion - blood bags exploding equivalent to the obligatory hardcore "money shot." Slow motion pulsations of Frigga pumping her shotgun are bizarre yet achingly beautiful - Vibenius uses this method at least a half dozen times and it never loses its impact. In fact, this second Vibenius motif in THRILLER - the use of ultra slo-mo for acts of violence - out Peckinpah's Peckinpah and approaches odd parody.

Ultimately, THRILLER's images burn into the viewer's subconscious - you certainly never forget the experience.